


cake'd in love

by specs of glitter (nekrateholic)



Category: Momoland (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reality Show, F/F, some boys show up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-01 05:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20252887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekrateholic/pseuds/specs%20of%20glitter
Summary: Ahin signs up for a dating show. It goes about as well as you'd expect.*not a baking au.





	cake'd in love

**Author's Note:**

> Written for GG Jukebox Round 1, inspired by I Really Like You by Carly Rae Jepsen.

Sometimes Ahin wonders where exactly her life went wrong.

Maybe it was this: her and Joowon, getting drinks after the stupid, last minute project their boss saddled them with was finally, finally done.

Maybe it was them getting kicked out of the bar at closing, then drinking all of Ahin’s doomsday alcohol stash at their apartment.

She could’ve stopped at any of those points, and her life would probably be intact right now. At least for the most part. She could’ve stayed home, shitting on her boss with Joowon. Eventually she would’ve attempted text her ex and explain to him the sheer level of stupid he is. Sober-Ahin is well aware he’s not worth the time but hey, if she doesn’t remember it it didn’t happen, right?

But in the end, the real issue here is this: Ahin and Joowon, shitfaced, watching reruns of a truly stupid dating show with the truly stupid name “Cake’d In Love”. Ahin and Joowon, shitfaced, going online and submitting atrociously worded sign up forms with enough typos to make Ahin’s eyes bleed should she ever read them again. Which she doesn’t.

Scratch all of that. As the makeup artist adds another layer of concealer on the stupid pimple that showed up overnight, it’s not hard at all to find the root of the problem: Ahin, sober, deciding to go ahead with the show anyway.

♥

“We’re on in ten minutes!”

Ahin shudders. The makeup artist lets her go with one last puff of setting powder and for a second, Ahin struggles to keep her balance. The heels she was presented with as soon as she showed up this morning are… quite the challenge. But it’s okay. Ahin will be on live TV in less than ten minutes and she’ll be amazing, even if her friends and a good part of her relatives are all at home, taping this for future torture. She tugs at the corner of her dress-sweater-something and prays to all deities out there the straps of her dress will count as enough shoulder coverage for her mom. (She likes the berret, though. Sparkly is always the right way to go.)

Not-wobbling up the stairs to the set is also a challenge but Ahin likes to think she does great with that one. Still, a small part of her is really glad her job doesn’t require heels on the daily.

The stage is in a frenzy, at least five people running around, trying to fix things up one last time before they go live. Among the chaos, Lee Hyebin, is shouting orders in every direction, waving her notepad around like a weapon. Ahin met most of the staff during rehearsals yesterday, Hyebin included. She had seemed pretty sweet then and watching her go all badass director is sort of giving Ahin a whiplash. Ironically, Hyebin reminds her of the lead role in that one drama Ahin saw recently. The lead lady was a director too, all intense and intimidating. Then again, in Ahin’s humble opinion, real-life directors seem to be a lot cooler than drama ones. Then Hyebin’s eyes zero in on her.

A moment later, a hand lands on her shoulder. When did Hyebin even move? “Hey Ahin!” she greets, gently pushing her towards the side of the stage Ahin’s supposed to come out of. At least that’s what they told her during rehearsal. “I hope you’re ready. It won’t be that scary, I promise!” Before Ahin can even open her mouth to say she’s not really scared, more nervous, really, Hyebin is talking again. “I don’t think you met Jungahn yesterday and… well, I guess you don’t have time to do it now either but hey, you’ll be talking soon enough?”

Ahin follows the direction Hyebin is pointing at and almost does a double take. She never got to meet the host of the show yesterday due to a _ scheduling conflict, _ whatever that means. Of course, Ahin has seen her on TV before. The public knows her as Daisy, of course, because apparently it’s hard to make a name for yourself unless you have a fancy stage name. Ahin looks at her now and wonders how she’s supposed to call her. Hyebin called her Jungahn, sure, but in reality, Ahin has never even met the woman. And she’ll need to address her as Daisy during the show anyway. In the end, it’s really not worth the headache. 

Now, Daisy is known for hosting shows along the lines of Cake’d In Love and she even makes them sound good sometimes. What Ahin definitely didn’t know, however, is how goddamn _ hot _Daisy is in real life.

Their eyes lock for about half a second and...

Is Ahin imagining things or did Daisy just check her out?

She tugs at her dress again, and Daisy’s eyes follow the movement. Okay then.

Ahin’s throat burns with the urge to say something, or maybe go introduce herself? But before she has the chance to choose, there’s a shout from the other side of the stage and Daisy’s attention is already elsewhere. 

“Anyway,” Hyebin says and Ahin’s attention snaps back to the present. Hyebin gives her an encouraging smile and with one last pat to Ahin’s bare shoulder. “I hope you have fun!”

And then she’s gone. Daisy is no longer looking in their direction either and the set is almost people-free at this point.

The cameras will start rolling in about five minutes, maybe less. Ahin takes a deep breath, then walks behind the sliding wall of the set which will be responsible for her grand reveal. As the wall slides shut in front of her, there’s something suspiciously a lot like doom settling in her gut.

It’s fine, though. Ahin will be fine. At the very least, she’ll get to spend a few hours admiring cakes, hopefully a pretty contestant or two as well. (And maybe, just maybe, Daisy’s legs in that dress.)

♥

“Today’s guest,” Daisy starts on the other side of the sliding wall, and Ahin startles out of her thoughts. She’d been drowning out the intro so far but it seems the nervousness makes her pick up on anything potentially related to her. Ahin knows that in a few short minutes, the wall will be sliding back and she’ll be faced with cameras, some more cameras and a live audience of people waiting for her to make a fool of a bunch of boys, maybe even herself. She prefers not to think about the audience at home. Joowon is in the studio too, among the live audience, which is as relieving as it is nerve-wracking. She’ll be asked to tell them a bit more about Ahin, it’s in the script and so are the answers, but you never know with Joowon. She may just decide today is the day all of Ahin’s questionable life choices should see the light of day. On live TV.

Ahin can’t blame her, though. She knows she’d be doing the exact same thing if she were in Joowon’s shoes.

“Lee Ahin!” Daisy’s voice booms and just like that, the wall is gone and the stage light is blinding. Ahin allows herself a second to adjust, and then she’s smiling, just like they rehearsed.

♥

“For anyone unfamiliar,” Daisy starts with a wink at the audience, “this is how our show works - we have all these cakes here,” she gestures to the glass display of cakes. “And our guests today are getting...”

The red light turns on and the audience, like one, yelps _ Cake’d In Love!!! _

Ahin resists the urge to cover her ears. 

The whole idea is this: there are five cakes in the glass display, each decorated in a way that represents one of the five male contestants who are hidden on the other side of yet another, bigger, sliding wall. There are four rounds in total and in each of them, Ahin is to send one of the contestants home. Each time a contestant is removed from the competition, he’s to step into Ahin’s side of the set where she’s supposed to… well. Smash the cake that represents him in his face.

The last man standing will get to share his cake with her over a makeshift romantic dinner with five to seven cameras directed at them. If they hit it off and go on a real date, the show will pay for it and they’ll be a nice little collage in a future episode - and if not, each of them is getting a cheque for a hundred thousand won.

At the very least, she’s going to enjoy attacking random boys with cake. _ Stress relief, _ Joowon had told her, right after she stopped laughing when Ahin informed her she’s planning to actually go on the show.

It’s going to be fun and really damn ridiculous, that’s for sure. And the thing she doesn’t really want to admit - there’s a small part buried deep, deep under Ahin’s pride, that hopes that maybe, just maybe, she could meet someone interesting, for real.

Although, looking at the way the flowy dress swishes around Daisy’s gorgeous legs as she shows off the cakes, Ahin is not sure if the boys even stand a chance.

♥

Joowon sticks to the script, thank god, and Ahin smiles when she gets to retell the story of how she was signed up for the show. They’d agreed to omit the alcohol bits, though. That would’ve been a disaster.

Ahin’s _ mom _is watching.

But then the intros are done and it’s time for the real show to start. Which means it’s time for some cake.

Because you see, the way the first boy will go is… by cake. Privately, Ahin thinks eliminating people based on the decorating abilities of some random baker is a little stupid but hey, it’s a dating show. It could be worse. 

Daisy ushers Ahin towards the cake display.

“Here we have… cake number one!” she says grandly, allowing the camera in front of them to zoom in on the cake. It’s the only not-round cake, covered in bright pink fondant. It’s in the shape of a heart with a staff running along the surface. On one side, the cake is cut out in a way that makes it look like a tiny, hot pink piano. It has the little fondant keys and everything. Honestly, it looks like the type of nerd thing where the musical notes on the cake are a real song. It’s adorable, even if Ahin has no idea whether it’s actually a song, let alone which song it is.

“So what do you think?” Daisy’s voice sounds so close that Ahin almost jumps away in surprise. When did she get so close?

There’s a bit of silence before Ahin gathers her wits. “It’s cute! It’s definitely something I could imagine as my birthday cake, even if I’m not that good with a piano. I love the color, too.” The sheer amount of fondant is definitely something that wouldn’t go on her birthday cake but hey, no one needs to know that. 

The cameraman moves to the second cake and Ahin takes that as her cue to move along as well. The second cake is round, frosting a mix of browns and reds. Ahin counts five chocolate leaves and another, adorable fondant dog placed like it’s asleep in the middle of them.

“Oh wow,” Ahin says, not waiting to be prompted this time. “This cake is beautiful. And the dog is so cute, too. I’m tempted to leave him for the end just so I won’t have to ruin it.”

“We’ll see about that,” Daisy laughs, pulling her towards the next cake. “All our cakes are beautiful, just like our contestants. Who knows what will happen?”

Cake number three is… well. A watermelon. It’s shaped like one half of a sphere, covered in green fondant decorated like a watermelon, with a triangular piece missing to reveal the pink frosting underneath. It has little black spots, too. 

The audience seems to wait for her reaction with bated breath.

“It’s… creative?” Ahin says in the end. Watermelons are cool. Who doesn’t like a good watermelon? She tells the waiting audience as much, adding her best smile for good measure. Ahin sees Daisy’s lips twitch in a smile out of the corner of her eye but it’s gone so fast it’s like it was never there in the first place.

The fourth cake is a cheesecake, decorated in so much strawberry syrup it kind of looks like a crime scene. It might be raspberry, too. Who knows. All Ahin is sure of about this cheesecake is that it’s red. It’s really, really hard to miss.

Other than the CSI worthy coverage, cake number four is rather plain. The color is pretty much the only thing that sets it apart from a regular, non-TV cheesecake but to be honest, Ahin appreciates the break from all the fondant. Cheesecake is cool.

Cake five is yet another piece of fondant art, this one dark blue, a gold-painted moon and a whole constellation of stars scattered around the surface. The stars disperse from the moon outwards, falling around the edges of the cake like a starshower.

Ahin has to bite back the _ It looks straight out of an aesthetic hipster blog _ comment.

It’s pretty nonetheless and she says as much, even if she can't exactly imagine herself eating it. It’s one of those things that look _ too _ pretty to eat and, in the end, that’s what cakes are for, right?

Daisy leads her back to the fancy pink stool which Ahin is supposed to occupy when she’s not looking at cakes. Or throwing them at random people’s faces.

Time for the big decision then.

♥

“So,” Daisy’s voice rings, somewhat mischievous. Or maybe Ahin is imagining things? “Who’s going home?”

Cake choice is an odd way to filter your partners, even if the whole point of the cake is to represent its owner’s interest to some extent. But _ odd _has a different meaning when air time is at stake and Ahin pretends to thoroughly consider her choices, even if her mind is made up already.

“All the cakes look amazing!” she says in her cutest voice. She throws in a pout as well, just in case, and pretends she doesn’t see Daisy’s eyes dropping to her lips. “It’s really hard to choose because all of the contestants seem so interesting!” It’s hard to suppress the cringe. It’s literally just _ cake _and Ahin can see Joowon laughing on the first row but alas, the show must go on. “I think the first one will have to be the watermelon cake. I’m sorry!” She pouts again for good measure and would you look at that, the audience coos.

Daisy pats her back in what’s supposed to be reassurance, probably. A staff member brings out the watermelon cake and puts it on the tiny table next to Ahin’s fancy pink chair. 

Another staff member leads the boy whose cake she just removed from the competition and, well.

Ahin barely bites back the _ Oh, fuck. _The boy in question seems to share the sentiment.

Sensing the discomfort, Daisy pounces like a tiny, fiercely hot piranha. “Let me introduce you to our first eliminated contestant. Ahin, this is Mark Lee!”

You see, the thing is, Ahin and Mark Lee used to share a class, back in high school. She wonders if this is some sort of a freak coincidence or the show’s producers are just that good. Because, back in the day, being the few students actually good in English, they’d bonded pretty fast. That bond culminated into Ahin dreaming of her first kiss, right before Mark moved away with his family.

They lost touch just as fast but Ahin never held any grudges. Mark was cool. Probably still is. The watermelon makes a lot of sense now.

“Hey,” Mark says, glaring discomfort in every fiber of his being. It’s painfully obvious, especially with all the cameras pointed at them.

“Hi,” Ahin says at the same time Daisy pokes her head in between them. 

“You two seem like you know each other.”

“Nope,” Ahin and Mark both yelp, in unison. Daisy narrows her eyes, so Ahin mouths an, _ I’m sorry, _ picks up the cake and smashes it in Mark’s face.

Everyone is quiet for a few long, long moments. Ahin can’t seem to look away from the strip of green fondant hanging from Mark’s nose. There’s pink frosting in his eyelashes too, his hair tangled in chunks of the chocolate that was supposed to be the watermelon’s seeds.

All of a sudden, Daisy twirls around to face the audience with a flourish, then throws a cue card in the air. “And with that, round one is over!”

♥

Mark is led away, followed by a camera. He’ll be asked about how he feels as he’s trying to wipe the cake off his face and not trip down the stairs as he gets off the stage. This is where the nice little clip of him talking about his experience will go, once they clean the cake and dress him in something that doesn’t have pink frosting all over the collar.

Hyebin calls for a break, even though they don't really need one, not yet. The slow isn't live but it the stage lights are _ hot _ and as soon as the cameramen disperse a small army of makeup artists invade the stage. A lot of them flock over to Daisy, some going beyond the sliding wall too and Ahin _ wonders. _

“You cut that short,” Hyebin’s voice sounds somewhere close and sure enough, when Ahin looks up she’s frowning. “It wasn't like that in the rehearsal.”

Mark Lee wasn't in the rehearsal. Neither was Daisy for that matter, and Ahin feels her moment of panic is completely justified.

But Hyebin is giving her A Look, so out loud, she says “Sorry. Won’t happen again.”

Is it just her or did Daisy just stifle a giggle?

Soon enough, the army of makeup artists disperses and they’re about to start filming again. 

Hyebin waves everyone in place and just like that, Daisy’s audience-smile is back in place, just as blinding.

“Welcome back to Cake’d In Love! We’re here today with our dear Ahin who’s ready to find the love of her life… or get some money. So far,” she gestures in Ahin’s general direction, then at the stage’s exit in the back. “Ahin has eliminated a lovely fellow by the name of Mark Lee. But fear not! We have four more candidates for her to choose from and that’s exactly what we’ll be doing now.”

For this round, Ahin’s potential suitors have submitted a picture each. A baby picture. As Daisy explains the rules to the audience, Ahin thinks back to the bits of these rounds she remembers seeing on TV. The pictures can be everything - they’ve ranged from actual baby pictures to pre-schoolers on their first day of class. They’re always adorable, a bit hilarious and tend to cause a fair amount of secondhand embarrassment. Ahin kind of wishes there was a segment where the boys have to actually explain why they submitted that particular picture but alas. It seems Cake’d In Love is barely managing to fit in its allocated air time as it is.

A pretty assistant by the name of Yeonwoo rolls out a cart with the pictures. Ahin is almost sure this is not her real name but she never paid enough attention before and Yeonwoo wasn’t at the rehearsal yesterday either.

She rolls the cart to a stop next to Daisy, takes a coquettish little bow, then exits the stage. The whole thing looks more like a fancy hotel room service than, well. Old pictures under a steel cover.

“Lovely Ahin!” Daisy starts, gesturing at the cart with flourish. “Time to find out how your suitors _ really _look like.

She lifts up the cover of the first picture. The boy in it seems no more than three years old. He’s laying sideways on a beach, eyes scrunched up towards the camera, tugging at the edges of his blue shirt.

At least it’s in color? This boy can't be that much older than Ahin is, if he’s older at all. Her baby pictures look pretty much the same. 

“A worthy contender,” Ahin says solemnly, out loud, because she's pretty sure that’s Hyebin’s eye twitching behind the camera. The boy in the picture is adorable and she tells Daisy as much. But this is something that’ll probably get repeated a lot because, well. _ Kids. _So Ahin adds an, “I’m really curious why he’s so mad at his shirt, though.”

In all fairness, she _ is _curious. But even so, the jury is still out on whether she’ll find out in person or through the sliding wall next round.

As if reading her thoughts, Daisy leans closer, invading Ahin’s space, probably trying to see the picture from her point of view. It’s a little ridiculous because the picture is on full display on the screen right behind them. Ahin finds she doesn’t mind all that much, though.

The audience laughs but at this point, all Ahin can think about is how overwhelming Daisy’s perfume is. It’s something floral, a bouquet of scents Ahin can’t quite place and she takes a deep breath, trying to mask it as a reaction to the picture. It doesn’t help with the recognition but Ahin feels like her entire being is wrapped in the aroma so it’s worth it. The corners of Daisy’s lips twitch ever so slightly. Ahin definitely wouldn’t have seen it if she was just a little further away.

“It does make you wonder why he’s so mad at the shirt, doesn’t it?” Daisy says when she straightens up, pointing to the screen behind them. The audience laughs again. Honestly, Ahin doesn’t blame them for being smitten.

Soon enough, the picture is back in its tray and another one is uncovered. It features a kid with the most adorable smile, dressed in a tiger onesie. The shot is rather zoomed in but it seems like he’s waving, or maybe holding something? It looks familiar but for the life of her, Ahin can’t think of where she’s seen the kid.

The picture must go on the screen behind them too because at least two people gape at it. She’s pretty sure there’s a pair of women on the second row who’ve been elbowing each other excitedly for at least a minute.

“So what do you think?” Daisy asks and Ahin almost jumps up. When did she get so close? “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Daisy continues, without an ounce of apology in her voice.

Ahin suppresses the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she smiles at the audience, then at Hyebin behind the camera. “I love the outfit,” she says, winking at the camera. It earns her a few laughs. “I can’t seem to remember where I’ve seen him though.”

Daisy assumes the most ridiculously fake surprised expression. She definitely knows who it is already and Ahin has to suppress another urge to roll her eyes, stronger this time. “Hmm, maybe it was something old?”

“I’d like to think you wouldn’t try to match me to a five year old boy,” Ahin says, as serious as she can. Now the audience laughs for real, Daisy laughing along this time. She can see Hyebin smiling behind the camera, too. It’s a weirdly satisfying feeling.

“That is a very good point,” Daisy agrees finally. She turns around to look at the photo on the screen this time and Ahin finds she rather misses the first time. “I don’t know about you but I really hope he didn’t grow out of that smile. It’s really, really cute.”

Of course, the audience laughs at Daisy’s wistful sigh and Ahin laughs along, except. Except there’s a weird feeling in her gut, not exactly a pleasant one, and she’s not sure how to deal with that.

(Though she might have an inkling about who’s getting caked this round.)

♥

Photo number three seems to be a relatively recent one. Not _ recent _recent, of course, but where the kids in the previous two photos were five at best, this one looks at least ten. It kind of looks like a selfie and it’s not a bad picture, honestly. Still, it’s as cool as a third grader could get - which isn't a lot. Ahin fails to suppress a giggle.

When she finally looks up, Daisy is watching her expectantly. Ahin clears her throat. “It’s a nice picture,” she says and the audience starts laughing. Ahin frowns. “I doubt I looked any better when I was his age, honestly. There’s this awkward age when you're no longer young enough to look cute all the time and not old enough to look good… well, most of the time.” She takes another look at the photo and smiles to herself. “I wonder what his selfie skills are like now, though.”

“I’d like to think they’ve improved over the years,” Daisy quips. A few people laugh and Ahin does her best to smile along, even if she doesn’t quite find it funny. 

She makes a show of putting the picture down, taking the cover off the next one.

“And our last contestant!” Daisy announces, throwing an arm in the screen’s direction. The last boy is - well, adorable. It’s another really young one, maybe three or four. He’s dressed in a tiny tuxedo and it looks so impossibly cute Ahin completely fails to coo, out loud. 

Daisy butts into her space once again. “He is rather cute, isn’t he?”

“I’m not sure if it’s the suit,” Ahin says, turning to the screen for the first time. This has to be seen on a huge screen. “Or maybe he was just an adorable kid but god, he’s _ precious.” _

Daisy’s eyes narrow for a fraction of a second.

“That we can all agree on, I think,” she says. Then she turns to the camera. “Now that all our contestants have been revealed, our commercial break is due. But don’t miss us too much, dear viewers at home - we’ll be back before you know it!”

Hyebin looks about as surprised as Ahin feels. She signals for the break anyway, then walks over. 

“Jungahn, this wasn’t in the script?” Her tone is mostly curious, except there’s a hard edge hidden there somewhere. Ahin can’t imagine it’s nice for your instructions to be avoided twice within the same show.

Daisy (Jungahn?) only shrugs. “I didn’t think there was a lot more to be said. Ahin was struggling there.”

Ahin was most definitely not struggling. The edge is still obvious in Hyebin’s eyes, though, and Ahin has the sudden urge to defend. So she does. “I really was struggling,” she mutters with as much conviction as possible. Hopefully it comes out as embarrassment, rather than guilt. “She probably stopped a disaster there.”

Hyebin looks between them for a few tense seconds. Eventually, she sighs. “Fine. Please keep to the script from now on, though.”

“Yes sir!” Daisy salutes and Ahin can’t help but laugh. Hyebin does too, even if she’s shaking her head. At least she doesn’t look too disappointed.

Once Hyebin is out of earshot, Ahin clears her throat. “I wasn’t struggling.”

Daisy raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, so far. Probably. Let’s call it a gut feeling. Thank you for backing me up, though.” She adds, smiling again. It’s softer than her camera smile, a bit brighter. Ahin finds she quite likes it.

♥

Unlike with the last break, the minutes drag on with this one. The stylists touch up Daisy makeup, then Ahin’s, but the whole ordeal probably takes around five minutes tops. After that, the crew is busy discussing stuff Ahin doesn’t understand and Daisy… well. Daisy is walking over and Ahin may or may not be freaking out.

“So how are you liking our show so far?” She asks, leaning against Ahin’s pink chair. Ahin kind of wishes she was in it, honestly. The heels are killing her.

“It’s nicer than expected,” she replies because it is. She mostly expected a shit show. It kind of is a shit show but… a cakey one. Throwing cake in people’s faces is fun.

Daisy laughs. “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t a host. I’d totally join, if only so I can hit men with cake. But then I remember I get to watch men being hit by cake every week and it makes me feel better.”

Ahin leans on the other side of the chair. The heels really are killing her. “Who knows, maybe you’d find the _ looove _in one of them. Not just cake them in the face.”

“Uh, no thanks.” Daisy says, making a face. “Not really my thing. Men, I mean.”

For a moment, Ahin is too stunned to reply. The look in Daisy’s eyes is calm, expectant. Maybe a bit challenging. She wonders if everyone else knows.

“I imagine it’s nice to watch them caked in the face, then.” Ahin ends up saying. It has to be a joke. If it’s not, she may blurt out something dumb like, _ can I be your thing then? _

Daisy bursts out laughing again. It’s a beautiful sound. “It definitely is. Sometimes I get to meet fun people too, though.”

“Yeah,” Ahin mumbles. She straightens up, then. Fuck the heels and fuck the twinge of embarrassment, too. Lee Ahin does mumble. “I can see that,” she says, meeting Daisy’s eyes for a bit longer than strictly necessary. 

Daisy raises an eyebrow. She doesn’t get the chance to add anything else, though, because a moment later Hyebin is calling them to take places. Break’s over.

Ahin tries extra hard not to regret it.

♥

“So!” Daisy announces after the break is finally, officially over. “The time has come. Who is getting a taste of his cake next?”

Ahin pretends to think about it, even though the decision was made long, long ago. “Picture number...” She pauses for emphasis, the whole studio going quiet with her. Hyebin gives her a thumbs up behind the camera. “Two!”

There are some cheers, quite a bit of boos. Ahin gets them, kid number two was adorable but… each time she thinks about him, the image of Daisy smiling fondly at his picture burns through her mind. It’s rather unpleasant, for some reason.

Daisy picks up the picture with the appropriate amount of regret. “A worthy contender,” she says solemnly and Ahin ignores the ungly feeling lurking in her gut. “Let’s bring out the cake, shall we?”

It’s the starry cake which is… oh well. Ahin wasn’t planning on keeping aesthetic blogger child for too long anyway. It looks like the kind of cake that’s only good in pictures and to be honest, you’re supposed to eat a cake, not keep it as your wallpaper.

The sliding wall moves back a centimetre or two, and in comes… frankly one of the most gorgeous people Ahin has seen in her life. She kind of sees why Daisy reacted like this, even if it still leaves a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Daisy announces, punctuated by a dreamy sigh. “This is Moonbin. Some of you already recognized his baby photo but let me confirm the suspicions: Moonbin was one of the child actors who played the younger versions of our very own rising gods of the sun, DBSK.” The screen behind them booms to life. So that’s where Ahin has seen him. The video for Balloons screams old but it’s somewhat nostalgic. She remembers her mom listening to this song in the kitchen sometimes, while Ahin did her best to pretend she’s not there only to steal bits of the uncooked dough. She thought the balloons and all the fluff are cute, back then.

She thinks it now, too, except she has eyes and Moonbin both as a kid and an adult is outshining the balloons a hundred times over. 

The song snippet is over soon enough and Moonbin takes a step closer. 

“Hey,” he says, not quite meeting Ahin’s eyes and god, everything about him is beautiful. “Nice to meet you, even if it’s a little too early.”

Ahin laughs. “Hey, you made it past the first round!” Moonbin joins in. It’s cute. Ahin almost regrets eliminating him. Then she notices Daisy’s eyes flickering down his back and, oh well.

The cake ends up in Moonbin’s face with way more force than she intended.

She mutters an apology, handing him a napkin to at least clean up his eyes. Poor boy. Ahin can see Hyebin rubbing her temples again. 

It seems like Ahin caught Moonbin mid-laugh which… fair. He has a mouthful of cake that he’s trying not to choke out at this very moment. She almost feels bad. Almost.

“Ah well,” Daisy announces behind them, a huge grin on her face. “Now that we’re a man down, on we go! To the next one.”

Moonbin is escorted off stage with one final apology from Ahin and that is that.

A staff member arranges the pictures in a neat little row in front of Ahin and there it is. Time for round three.

♥

Round three consists of the following: first, Ahin will hear the voice of each of the remaining participants. Then, she’ll have to match their pictures to a cake.

Then, she eliminates one.

It’s her least favorite round if she’s being honest. Nine times out of ten female contestants fuck up the mix and match part beyond belief and the whole thing relies so heavily on presumptions it’s… a little disgusting, really. But it is what it is.

Daisy helps Ahin back into her pink chair, then a staff member brings the display with the pictures closer. Daisy points to the first one. It’s selfie boy. Ahin doesn’t have to look back to see the picture on the screen behind her as well. The stage goes quiet, and the speakers turn on.

“Hi! I can’t wait to meet you.” 

The microphone gives a tiny screech as it turns off and Ahin is left staring at the picture. It’s a nice voice as far as she can tell. Maybe he’d sound good reading a book aloud, or maybe singing. Nothing really stands out to her, though. She nods, and Daisy motions for the staff to hand the microphone to the next contestant. Ahin turns around to see tuxedo kid taking up most of the screen. So angry kid is last then.

“I think we have a lot of things in common,” boy two says. “It would be fun to get to talk about them.” 

Ahin barely suppresses a double take. She isn't sure if there's such a thing as a gorgeous voice but if there was, _ that _ would be it. Frankly, Ahin thinks it’s quite unfair someone as cute as tuxedo kid grew up into someone with a voice as nice as this one. If he’s pretty too she might just have a heart attack. But then again, it’s just a voice. It’s just a face, too, whether cute tuxedo kid or whoever he grew up to be. Who knows how this person is in real life.

Ahin wonders what she would've thought if she’d heard Moonbin’s voice before seeing his face. Maybe the stupid show is getting to her.

It’s with these thoughts that Ahin signals she’s ready and prepares herself for the final voice.

Which says, “You seem cool.”

Everyone stays quiet for a few long, awkward moments, waiting for the rest of that sentence. It never comes.

The silence is so _ complete _ Ahin can't help but laugh. It's like a spell is broken then, the audience laughing along as well. 

Eventually Daisy joins in too, and she finally picks her microphone back up. "Well," she starts, the remnants of laughter still audible in her voice, "Who can say no to such a compliment?" 

Ahin can see teasing smiles all over the place, Hyebin and Daisy included. She feels a bit bad for the boy - he sounded nice, funnily enough. She wonders if you can even tell that from such a short sentence. But then again, not everyone can be outgoing enough to ace a TV show, the premise of which is to make fun of you.

“I think it was cute,” Ahin says amidst the giggles and just like that, all eyes are on her. “I know it may not seem like that right now but I can be quite awkward when meeting new people, too.”

Daisy’s eyes snap back to her and Ahin has the distinct feeling she’s being hunted. “So does this mean our contender number three can be the winner?”

Honestly, maybe. If the hypothetical shy persona of boy #3 persists long enough in Ahin's brain she might just pick him. Why not? She has nothing but hypothetical personas for all of them anyway.

But that would ruin the fun, wouldn't it?

"I'm not sure yet," Ahin says, her best pouty smile in place. "All the contenders seem very sweet so far. It's going to be a hard decision."

"Fair enough," Daisy nods, solemn. "Shall we start matching then?"

♥

Faced with the set of pictures and the display of cakes left, Ahin wonders if maybe this is when her happy streak will end. The show's dynamics have been mostly easy to navigate so far. Finding the right middle ground between embarrassing-funny and just funny was not that hard.

But now. Now Ahin has zero idea who each cake belongs to and she just knows this will come back to bite her in the ass.

"This is so hard," she whines aloud. It has the desired effect, the audience eats it up. Daisy coos in her microphone but Ahin isn't fooled. When she eventually fucks up, _ it will _be made into a joke.

She tentatively puts the picture with the angry kid next to the cheesecake. He sounds like someone who would be cool enough to go for a cheesecake in this land of fondant. The grumpy kid in the picture, the reserved greeting. It fits perfectly. Ahin considers selfie kid for a bit, then slaps him next to the pink piano cake. It’s not a particularly good match but she has a gut feeling the autumn cake belongs to Mr Nice Voice. She gives one last look at her choices but it’s not like they’ll be the first ones she’s regretted. Hell, they won’t be the first ones she’s regretted _ today. _

It’s fine.

Two cameramen rush to film her final selection and Daisy walks over to stand next to Ahin.

"Is this your final choice then?" She says, once the cameramen have dispersed. Ahin can see another camera's viewfinder turning in the far back, probably zooming in on their faces. She can't blame the dude, honestly. This show seems full of beautiful people, whether on the stage or behind it. (She kind of wants to zoom in on Daisy's face too.)

Ahin takes one last look at her cakes, now in sets with a picture each, then nods. “It was really difficult but I think I figured it out.”

“Oh, you did?” Daisy asks, all smiles. Ahin has the distinct sense of dread settling in her gut. “How many do think you guessed right, then?”

It’s a trick question and Ahin refuses to fall for it. “All of them,” she states. “I’m confident I got them all.”

She’s not. She’s so, so not and Daisy’s almost sinister grin is proof enough.

“Okay then.” She agrees finally, leading Ahin back to the cakes. “Which cake is getting smashed this round?”

Ahin bites her lips, then closes her eyes. Unlike the previous two rounds this one is actually hard. Honestly, she was kind of hoping to leave the cheesecake for last because it looks impossibly tasty. But her gut is pulling her to possibly-angry boy and his cheesecake and.

Seems like this will be yet another episode where the fondant monstrosities win. 

So Ahin raises her hand, palm open and points at the crime scene of a cake. “Cake number two.”

The audience bursts in noise, some applauding and some just plain making noise. It takes a minute or two for them to calm down but once they do, Daisy has that evil grin again.

“I can’t say if this is a good choice but it has been made now.” She pauses, waiting until the last murmurs die down. “Bring out the owner of cake number two!”

The sliding wall pulls back a bit and in comes… not what Ahin expected. She’s not sure what she expected, actually but it probably wasn’t this man. He has actual dark blue hair and adorable, round cheeks which don’t match the badass image he’s trying to pull off at all. It doesn’t help that he’s also short as hell.

(He’s not. He’s not that much taller than Ahin herself, really, but if she has to endure her entire friend circle teasing her about height, then so should he. The worst part is, this whole badass aura? He does pull it off. Swimmingly Ahin is not jealous at all.)

“Dear Ahin, let me introduce you to our third eliminated contestant of the night.” Daisy announces once blue-boy is close enough. “This is Han Jisung, aspiring producer, sometimes musician. So, Jisung,” she leads him towards the cakes and Ahin doesn’t like her grin _ at all. _ “Would you be a dear and match your picture to the correct cake?”

The feeling of dread is back in full force and Ahin is only proven right when Han Jisung picks up the disaster selfie and switches it with angry beach kid.

Damn it.

He turns back at her and god, his grin is infectious. It seems each person she eliminates is prettier than the previous ones but maybe that’s just because the rest are gone already. Either way, Ahin is scared of what awaits behind the stupid sliding wall. She has always had a weakness to pretty people. (Her eyes flicker to Daisy who’s already looking at her. Ahin quickly looks back to Jisung.)

“Hey,” Jisung grins and damn, it’s almost blinding up close. “I really meant it, about wanting to meet you. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.” He looks down at the cake, then back at her. “If I knew I’d be going home early I would’ve probably picked a different cake, though.”

The blood-red jelly glistens in the studio lights and for a second, they both stay silent. “I really like your confidence,” Ahin says aloud. She’s distinctly aware there are endless pairs of eyes, both real and camera aided ones pointed at her but she’s having a moment. Her mistake is still sitting at the back of her mind.

Whatever the moment was, it’s broken when Daisy all but physically pushes them apart by inserting herself between them. 

“Anyway!” She announces, eyes flicking between the two of them with suspicion and… something else. Ahin can’t quite place it. “Watching you two is lovely but you have two more contestants waiting, dear Ahin.” Daisy’s eyes land on Jisung, and she seems oddly excited as she exclaims, “Time to get caked!”

♥

The jelly flies everywhere and so does the, well, cheesy part. Pun absolutely intended. Jisung wipes his eyes easy enough, except his shirt’s collar is barely visible under all the creamy cheese and chunks of cream and crust travel all the way down to his arms. There are bits of red jelly in his hair, too. The blood red looks… interesting, when in contact with his blue hair.

Of course, this does not deter Daisy from pushing a microphone in his face.

“So what advice would you give future contestants?”

Jisung ruffles his hair, jelly flying everywhere. A tiny bit lands on Daisy’s eyebrow. Ahin can see said eyebrow twitching.

“Please,” Jisung says into the microphone, staring intently at the camera closest to him. “Please, choose your cake wisely.”

The audience erupts in laughter and Ahin can’t help but join in. Daisy seems to be suppressing a laugh too. She keeps her cool, though, because Hyebin is gesturing wildly behind the camera and the person supposed to be leading Jisung off stage has been waiting just outside the area visible through the cameras, for a few minutes now.

Jisung doesn’t actually need help off stage because at this point most of the cream has slid down his throat and into the collar of his shirt. They have a script to follow, though, so he obediently lets himself be guided down the stairs.

Once he’s gone, Daisy turns back to the audience. “Surprisingly, the remaining two pictures are matched to the correct cakes. So you did guess one right!” The last is aimed at Ahin, followed by a wink and it takes a moment for Ahin to realize what just happened. There’s some sort of a feeling in her chest, except each time she tries to catch it, put it into words, it slips away.

Ahin contemplates putting a word in but ultimately, Daisy beats her to it.

“And now,” she says, the whole studio going dead silent. “Time to meet our last two contestants!”

The sliding wall moves again, more this time, revealing half of the other part of the studio. It reveals the boy standing behind it, too, and… his hair is bright blonde? Great. He’s also beautiful, but at this point Ahin has long since learned to trust Daisy when she says all their contestants are beautiful. They are. (And not just the contestants either.)

“I present to you, Na Ungjae, aspiring musician and producer as well. Our contestants have a theme today, don’t you think?”

The angry kid picture goes up on the screen and Ahin almost does a double take. Ungjae as an adult looks rather angry, too, except that might just be his face. 

Ahin bows and he bows lower. It’s kind of ridiculous, to be honest. For all the intimidating vibes he’s giving off, he can’t seem to even meet her eyes properly.

“I love your cake!” Ahin exclaims eventually, when it becomes clear Daisy is done attempting to initiate a conversation. Ahin will have to take it into her own hands, then. “But I need to know. What happened in that picture?”

At this, Ungjae laughs. It’s small and airy but he’s smiling and, god. Ahin hates this show.

“Even as a kid, I had a thing for pink. It didn’t fly well with my parents,” Ungjae mutters and would you look at that, when he strings whole sentences together he sounds rather nice, actually. Ahin can totally see him as the musician type. “I loved the piano, though.” He adds, pointing to the cake. 

“It really is a cute cake,” Ahin agrees. It’s not a lie. It’s probably a decent tasting cake, too. It’s just that… all this_ fondant. _

But Ungjae beams at her and Ahin may or may not melt a little.

“And now,” Daisy says, always interrupting the moment, “our second contestant.”

The sliding wall finally pulls all the way back and. Oh wow.

Boy two is already smiling. And gorgeous. Ahin feels wholly unprepared, even if this seems to be the theme tonight. It’s just not _ fair. _

Suddenly Daisy is in her field of vision, partly blocking the sight with her cue cards and her hand extended. “Ladies and gentlemen, Hwang Hyunjin.” 

People clap and Ahin wants to, too, except that would probably be a bad idea for a lot of reasons. She tries to clear her head without making it look like there’s something to even clear. Ungjae and Hyunjin are both beautiful and so were the previous people, too. But then again, the facts are these: Ahin knows nothing about either of them, apart from the fact that they prefer pretty over taste with their cakes. They’re easy on the eyes, oh so easy but - this is all so dumb.

She tunes into what’s happening just as Daisy is saying, “...freelance photographer, part time youtuber. His own words. So, Ahin.” she turns back to Ahin, that grin gracing her features again. “What do you think?”

“I think,” Ahin says honestly, for the first time since the cameras started rolling, “this will be one of the hardest things I’ve done so far.”

She has never been happier to hear the break announced.

♥

She goes off stage for the first time they started filming. There isn’t enough time to wander, not really, but the stage lights are getting too bright. 

They have fifteen minutes at best but Ahin takes the most deserted hallway anyway. A little further into the building won’t hurt. She needs the time away from all the noise.

It’s quiet save for Ahin’s own steps, which is why she yelps out loud when a hand grabs her wrist out of the blue.

She’s ready to whack whoever just grabbed her - she may not have a weapon but she _ does _have rings. When she whips around her fist almost collides with… Ungjae’s face?

“Sorry to startle you,” he says and to his credit, he does sound sorry. “I should've made a sound or something.”

“Yeah,” Ahin breathes out, hear still racing. “You should have. I’m sorry I almost socked you in the face, too.”

“That’s fair,” Ungjae laughs. He’s let go of her wrist already and Ahin rubs at it. Ungjae’s eyes drop to her hands. “I really am sorry. Ah,” he stays quiet for a few long seconds and Ahin wonders of she did something wrong. Or maybe he’s just a psycho? Does the show even screen the contestants?

“Look,” Ungjae starts again, eyes determined this time. “I don't think I’ll win but I didn't think I’d get this far either, so here I am.” He takes a deep breath. “You seem like a lovely person and I’d love to go out with you under different circumstances but… I’d rather take the money.”

Did Ahin just get friendzoned from her potential date in a _ dating show? _

“It’s fine,” she ends up saying because Ungjae looks progressively more distressed by the second, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ahin still isn't entirely sure she wants an actual date out of this but if the answer turns out to be a no, she likes Ungjae as an alternative. At least he’s honest.

He nods once, then scurries down the hallway, back where there are lights and people and-

There are suspicious noises coming from one of the rooms Ahin has yet to explore. 

She peeks in because of course she does. Curiosity killed the cat, they say and Ahin wonders if these words will reach her too, one day.

This day is not today, though, because the noises come from, well. A heated makeout session. Ahin tries to sneak back out as quiet as she can. Her eyes register the people before her brain catches up, though. One half of the couple making out was Jisung - Ahin thought they ship them home right after elimination but apparently not. His hair is impossible to mistake, even in the muted light of the room.

And the second part of the couple, the one that was more recognizable, actually - Ahin is almost sure it was Hwang Hyunjin. 

_ At least Ungjae told me upfront, _ she thinks bitterly. Joowon will have a field day with this whole situation.

♥

Once the break is over the show passes relatively quickly. Ahin no longer has to worry about anything because she isn't going home with any of these two boys. She’s not sure she ever was going to.

She fakes her way through the five minute dates she’s supposed to have with Hyunjin and Ungjae but now that Ahin knows what to look for, she knows they’re doing the same.

Daisy takes her sweet time announcing the winner even though Ahin took approximately two minutes to decide. She did consider Hyunjin, sure, except Ungjae did tell her he’s not interested. A little honesty goes a long way, especially after a day like this. 

Ahin and Ungjaem of course, opt for the money and there are a few boos from the public but ultimately, they have no say in the matter. The important thing is another one entirely: Daisy looks especially smug when announcing then prize. Ahin _ wonders. _

“I’m sorry we couldn't find you a date,” Hyebin says when the cameras finally, finally stop rolling. 

Ahin shrugs. “Some things were just not meant to be.”

♥

Daisy catches up with her on the way to her dressing room. 

“Okay, what really happened?” she starts without preamble. It’s like she’s known Ahin for years, not mere hours. “You were pretty smitten with Hyunjin.” Daisy adds.

To tell or not to tell? Daisy seems like a trustworthy person but then again, Ahin really hasn't known her for that long. She decides to play it safe, just in case.

“I have reason to believe he was rather intimate with someone else,” she ends up saying. “Ungjae at least told me he’s not interested in an actual date first thing during the last break. I appreciate honesty.”

“Ah,” Daisy breathes. “I’m sorry we couldn't find a date for you.” 

It’s almost word for word what Hyebin said earlier, except from Daisy’s lips it sounds… Different. With intent.

Maybe it’s the rush from the show or maybe it’s the confined spaces of backstage building up her courage.

Whatever the reason is, Ahin blurts out, “It’s really a shame. I was looking forward to this date, too.” She makes sure to hold Daisy’s gaze as she says the next words, slow and deliberate. “You could always arrange for a date with a staff member instead, as a consolation prize. I’ve heard the host of this show is pretty cute.”

Daisy’s eyebrows are up in her fringe. Ahin wonders how many of the female contestants have done this before, this blatantly. If it’s a normal thing. The thought doesn’t sit well with her for some reason.

“Is that so,” Daisy says eventually. “Well. What was that saying? The customer is always right?”

♥

So, okay. Ahin’s show was kind of a failure. Two of her potential final choices turned out to be into each other instead and the third - simply disinterested. The audience won't get to peep in on her awkward dates with an almost stranger, either.

There is a new number in her contact list, though. If she plays her cards right, it may remain there for a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for getting this far, first of all. i really appreciate it. really. this fic nearly killed me. but it didn't, and it's entirely **I** and **B**'s fault and i love you both to death. thank you. i'll never say it enough.
> 
> thank you to the lovely mods as well, you're all awesome ♥


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